This invention relates to a fan guard assembly, and in particular, to a fan guard assembly particularly suitable for use to protect the fan used to cool the radiator of a construction vehicle.
Construction vehicles such as bulldozers, front-end loaders and the like, generally have air cooled radiators. A fan is utilized to provide the requisite air flow over the surface of the radiator for cooling purposes. A fan guard is generally provided to protect the fan. A fan guard provides a barrier to inadvertent intrusion of foreign material into the path of the fan blade. Although the guard is designed to prevent intrusion of foreign material, the fan guard must provide sufficient flow passages to minimize air flow restrictions to the blade. Further, the fan guard must have sufficient structural rigidity to withstand shocks and vibrations developed during normal operation of the construction vehicle.
Presently, fan guards on construction vehicles are made by welding pre-formed wires and/or bars together into a screen which follows the contour of the fan. Such fan guards are very expensive to manufacture and prone to failure at the many weld joints. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to manufacture a fan guard that is reliable, less costly to produce, prevents intrusion of foreign material into the path of the fan blade, and minimizes air flow restrictions to the fan.